A daily digest of IT news, curated from blogs, forums and news sites around the web each morning. We highlight the key commentary and demystify the real story.
You'll be able to download the Windows 8 beta soon. Based on rumors that the M2 milestone is complete, the beta release date should be September, ready for PDC.
Rumor mongers say we're closer to the Windows 8 beta release date. But Microsoft remains mum, natch. In IT Blogwatch, eager bloggers can't wait to download it.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention Victoria's Secret: mostly harmless...
(MSFT)
Tom Warren's been delving through some dodgy forums:
Microsoft is on the verge of finishing its second Milestone build of Windows 8. ... The final M2 build ... will be distributed internally and externally to the companys closest partners. ... [This] is a significant stage towards a Windows 8 beta. ... The current schedule could mean well see a ... beta in the Summer.
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Microsoft may introduce Windows 8 ARM based tablets ahead of a full desktop release. ... Microsofts competitive tablet strategy is believed to be further along than expected. ... Rumors suggest that Microsoft will create a dual-UI ... [including] a tile-based user interface codenamed Mosh.
Mary Jo Foley adds:
Milestone 2 ... took the Windows client team five months. If M3 takes another five months ... that would put its completion date around the end of July. Factor in a month or so for ... Community Technology Preview (CTP) testing, and a beta around the time of this years Professional Developers Conference ... slated for September ... looks downright doable.
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If Microsoft does follow history and deliver a Win 8 Beta 1, Beta 2 and Release Candidate before RTMing, Windows 8 is looking like a mid-2012 RTM. The Windows 8 train seems to be running on time just like the Win 7 one did.
The mysterious Canouna and Zunona have the deets:
1st Escrow Build for Windows 8 M2: 6.2.7947.0.winmain_win8m2_escrow.110218-1608.
Oliver Haslam continues the rampant speculation:
A more cloud-centric OS is expected especially considering the focus on tablets and other machines with no conventional disk drive. ... Its clear the company sees Windows 8 as a pivotal software release, heaping more pressure on an already creaking development team. ... MS will be hoping Windows 8 can build on the good faith the 7th installment of the OS managed to return.
And Jay Yarow nixes the naysayers:
Microsoft is a lot closer than people think to delivering a viable tablet, says Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Holt. ... [And] we were recently informed by a source at Microsoft that the company has around 1,000 engineers working on making Windows run smoothly on ARM chip designs. ... iPads are being tested or deployed in 80% of Fortune 100 companies, but that doesn't mean Apple will own the enterprise market. Microsoft has a lot of room to catch up, even it comes late to the game.
Richi Jenningsis an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can follow him as @richi on Twitter, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itbw@richij.com.
